Google's New Environmental Insights Explorer Lets You Know How Polluted Your City Is

Want to know how contaminated your city is? Well, Google now has a new tool that gives environmental data about things like building and transportation emissions, climate forecasts and the area's solar power potential.

The Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE) will let you access that information and it will be starting in Europe today. The project began last year when Google commenced pilot testing in five cities over the US, Canada, Australia, and Argentina.

Google users in Dublin, Birmingham and Greater Manchester can now obtain the data by using the EIE platform. The American multinational technology company has been preparing the tool as one of its sustainability initiatives to survey the world's current carbon footprint.

EIE was created in collaboration with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy or (GCOM). The technology was primarily initiated for city planners but can be accessed by Google users.

The idea of the project is to provide data for decision-makers and solution providers in improving climate issues for cities around the world.

Dublin's city administrators have previously been testing the tool. Currently, they are now using the data to assess pollution and to boost the adoption of cleaner modes of travel.

It was also used in Copenhagen, analyzing the levels of ultrafine particles and black carbon existing in the air with data taken from Air View. The technology can identify and measure methane concentrations from a moving vehicle and was made in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund or (EDF).

The initiative equips Google Street View vehicles with scientific tools to measure air quality at the street level. The Street View cars perform at least two trips in an area to collect air quality data using an intake tube on the front bumper.

The data is already available for viewing but was first given to Copenhagen's City Council and its scientists.